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the Big Picture

Chancellor John Christensen and a group of more than 40 students had their photo taken Nov. 18 in front of Arts and Sciences Hall. The Reader will use the picture for its 'Reader's Choice/Best of the Big O' edition cover next week.

During the NUFlex enrollment period (Nov. 16 to Dec. 4), all
active, benefits-eligible employees have the opportunity to complete a Health
Risk Assessment (HRA). This survey is completely confidential and voluntary.
The Web site is a secure site and the HIPAA Privacy Act protects all
information. Aggregate data from each campus will be used to create programming
to set goals for improving the health and well-being of employees.

Faculty and staff should have received an e-mail on Nov. 16
from UNCA Benefits about the Wellstream site where the HRA is available. Employees
can also access the HRA site from their Firefly homepage.

Completing the HRA will allow employees and their dependents,
if enrolled in the university medical plan, to enjoy enhanced benefits such as:
- An increased annual adult preventive care allowance from $240 to $300;
- An increased dependent child (under age 2) preventive care allowance from $500 to $600;
- 100 percent coverage for routine preventive colonoscopy once every 10 years beginning at age 50; and
- $0 co-pay for generic prescription drugs.

Again, all personal health information will remain confidential,
as the university will only have access to aggregate information obtained from
the survey.

UNO now has its own YouTube video channel with more than 20
uploads that cover a range of campus - from athletics (lots of hockey) to
H1N1 information to a not very good knock-knock joke.

"This is part of UNO further embracing social media," said
Tim Kaldahl, director of University Relations. "Many different areas of campus are using a variety of
different communication tools and this is another step for us."

The web address for the new channel is http://www.youtube.com/unomavtv. Student
Scott Stewart, a former editor of The Gateway, has shot and edited much of the video.

"How we get the word out to our campus and beyond campus has
changed and is changing," said Wendy Townley, assistant director for media
relations in University Relations. "Social media grows in its importance each day. Twitter, YouTube and Facebook are
taking the university's information to people who want it."

Native American Heritage Month-long festivities will
conclude today, Nov. 23, with a 7 p.m. screening of "Power Paths." A
discussion will follow the screening lead by Georgiana George Lee, assistant
director of Native American Public Television Inc.

The documentary is an exploration of energy through the eyes
of Native Americans as they reveal their quest to tap wind, solar, biomass and
other power sources for their communities across the country. Funding for the
screening is provided by Corporation for Public Broadcasting and Native
American Public Television.

The Faculty Senate and Staff Advisory Council (SAC) have
teamed up once again to sponsor the annual Holiday Card Program.

All interested faculty and staff are encouraged to donate
the money they would normally spend on greeting cards for colleagues to one of
two scholarship funds at UNO - the William Gerbracht Memorial Scholarship Fund
(recipients are children of faculty and staff) or the General Scholarship Fund.
Additional donations are also welcome. In return, a seasonal greeting that
acknowledges contributors will be distributed to all UNO departments the week
of Dec. 14.

Those who wish to donate should send a check (payable to
UNO) to Cashiering/Student Accounts, EAB 109, by Friday, Dec. 4. Donors should
designate one of the two scholarship funds listed above and indicate the name
or names they wish to appear on the seasonal greetings card.

The campus community and public can do holiday shopping and
support the Criss Library all at the same time. The Criss Library will sponsor
an Scholastic Children's Book Fair Monday, Nov. 30, from 5 to 9 p.m., and
Tuesday through Wednesday, Dec. 1-2, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Books for children of all ages, holiday titles,
instructional materials, games, videos and toys all will be for sale. Donations
will be accepted for the One World Community Health Center "Reach Out and Read" program.

All proceeds will benefit the library's juvenile book
collection. For more information, contact Melissa Cast at mcast@unomaha.edu.

Secular Student Alliance to Host Screening of 'Monty Python's Life of Brian'

The UNO Secular Student Alliance will host a free screening
of "Monty Python's Life of Brian" Monday, Nov. 30, from 6 to 10 p.m. in the Eppley
Administration Building Auditorium.

"The newly formed, Secular Student Alliance, is a student
organization that provides people with a non-theistic bent," said John Powers,
student vice president of SSA. "A place to come and talk about life in a
religious world."

"Monty Python's Life of Brian" tells the story of Brian Cohen,
a young Jewish man who is born in the same era and location as Jesus Christ,
and is subsequently mistaken for the Messiah. The Monty Python comedy team
wrote, directed and starred in the 1979 film.

Critical Reflection: Harvesting the learning from service-learning and what makes service
learning "academic?" Learn answers to this kind of question at
Service-Learning 201: Advancing the Practice on Friday, Dec. 4, from 1:30 to 4
p.m. 202 Arts and Sciences Hall (Conference Room).

Reflection is one of the cornerstones of linking the service
experience of students to the theoretical course content. There are a myriad
ways of creating and guiding reflective thinking.

This session will focus on research done with students in
service-learning courses at eight institutions in the U.S. (Vanderbilt,
University of Tennessee, Bentley College, University of San Diego, University
of Colorado, East Tennessee State University, Clark-Atlanta University and
University of Washington).

Attendees will:

- Review reflective learning theory;

- Understand what the research shows about student learning
through reflection; and

- Learn methods of reflective practice and how to weave
these experiences throughout a service-learning course for maximum learning to
occur.

Although there will be some upfront presentation, time for
attendees to share effective practices will be woven throughout the session.

To register, call Carlynn Hartman-Kurtz in the
Service-Learning Academy at 554.2712 or send an e-mail to chartmankurtz@unomaha.edu.

The Environmental Club of UNO (EC UNO) will host a talk by
John Bartle, professor of public administration, on Tuesday, Nov. 24, at 11:30
a.m. in the Milo Bail Student Center Chancellor's Room. Faculty, staff and
students can listen to Bartle speak about "Sustainable Transportation: Global
Challenges and Local Solutions."

Mav-Rec Wellness will offer a strength and conditioning
mini-workshop with kettlebells on Tuesday, Nov. 24.

A kettlebell is a type of weight that looks like a
cannonball with a handle welded to the top. Learn from kettlebells certified
experts -- Mark Snow and Nikki Snow -- about the proper technique and training.
The kettlebells workshop will take place in 230 Health, Physical Education and
Recreation Building from 2 to 4 p.m.

The cost is $20 for students, $30 for activity cardholders
and $40 for non-activity cardholders.

For more information, call 554.2539.

The
mission of the Mav-Rec Wellness, UNO's health promotion program, is to create a
culture of health and wellness among all faculty, staff and students. Health
goals are encouraged through programming and initiatives that celebrate
healthier lifestyle practices within the UNO community. For more information,
contact David Daniels at 554.2008, daviddaniels@unomaha.edu or http://www.unomaha.edu/wwwocr/health/stampede.php.

Martin Indyk, a former United States ambassador to Israel,
will give a lecture, "The New Administration – Making Peace in the Middle
East," at the University of Nebraska at Omaha's (UNO) Thompson Alumni Center on
Tuesday, Nov. 24, at 7:30 p.m. The event is free and open to the public, and is
part of the Ruth and Phil Sokolof Lecture series. Read more.

Comedian and musician Bo Burnham will appear live in Omaha
Wednesday, Dec. 9 at the Omaha Music Hall (1804 Capitol Ave.) to perform his
"Fake ID" tour. The show begins at 7:30 p.m.; doors open at 7 p.m.

Burnham is a 19-year-old comedian, singer-songwriter,
musician and Internet celebrity. Writing comedic and satirical songs with a
politically incorrect slant, his YouTube videos have received more than 52.2
million views as of October 2009. Read more.

Submissions are currently being accepted for individual
papers and presenters for The Fourth Cumbre of the Great Plains. The Office of
Latino/Latin American Studies (OLLAS) at UNO will host the conference Thursday through
Saturday, May 13-15, at Embassy Suites in Omaha. The event's theme is "Human
Mobility, the Promise of Development and Political Engagement." Read more.